Pineapple Tarts (鳳梨酥)

For this month’s Secret Recipe Club I was assigned Shirley from Enriching Your Kid, who is a clinical psychologist-slash-homemaker that chronicles her family recipes and cooking experiences through her blog. There were a few recipes I was thinking about making, especially Mint Chutney, Dal Lentils, and Chole Chana Masala. I had been itching to bake something so I zoomed in on pineapple jam. I was thinking about all the ways I could use the pineapple jam: pineapple cookies, swirled into banana bread, plain on toast, and pineapple cakes.

The Mid-Autumn Moon Festival was in the month of October so I already had Asian sweets on my mind. Pineapple cakes (sometimes called pineapple tarts) are all over Asia and each region has its own special format. The Taiwanese version is named s Fènglísū (鳳梨酥).

I really enjoy eating pineapple cakes, but the store-bought kind tend to be dry and the filling lacking in flavor. making your own pineapple filling allows you to control the texture, spices, and sweetness. I switched out the cardamom in the recipe for ginger and cut down the sugar, cooking it down until it was nice and thick.

The dough for these tarts comes together quickly and is ridiculously easy. There are only 3 ingredients: sweetened condensed milk, flour, and egg yolk. I busted out my wooden mooncake molds that I picked up in Chicago’s Chinatown years ago and brushed them with an egg wash mixture before filling.

Mooncake Mold

Freshly baked cakes

Eaten warm, the dough is thick, buttery with a nice tender crumb. The filling is the perfect consistency that doesn’t ooze out when you bite into it but is soft enough to mix with the dough in each bite.

Instructions

Cut, clean and decore the pineapple. Cut into small pieces. Add the sugar and cook in a pan. Keep stirring for 10 minutes.

Cool and puree in the blender. Add back to the pan at medium heat, add spices and cook until color is golden brown and pineapple is mostly dry, stirring to avoid burning.

Lower the heat to simmer and continue to stir until the pineapple filling turns golden in color and becomes very sticky. Cool in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Cream the butter and condensed milk until light and fluffy. Add in the egg yolk and beat until well combined. Mix in the flour slowly to form the pastry dough. The dough is ready when it no longer sticks to your hands.

Prepare the egg wash by mixing all the ingredients together in a small bowl.

Divide the pineapple filling and dough into portions. Roll them both into balls. To wrap, use your palms to roll each dough and then flatten it.

Add a pineapple ball in the middle and fold the edges of the dough up to cover the filling. Finish it off by rolling it into a round ball.

Press tart into floured wooden mold OR Place the pineapple cookie on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. If not using a mold, use the back of a paring knife, cut the criss-cross shape on the cookie, and brush the top of the cookie with the egg wash, twice. Repeat the same until all ingredients are used up.

Bake in a preheated oven at 330°F (165°C) for about 20-22 minutes or until they turn golden brown. Transfer them out and cool on a wire crack before storing in an airtight container.

You will have extra filling, keep it in the fridge and make another batch or double the dough recipe.

Oh, these sound so good and are absolutely beautiful! What a great choice for the SRC, and thanks for introducing me to a new-to-me treat! =)Amy @ Fearless Homemaker recently posted..Pasta with Kale and Walnut Pesto